In December, the number of persons registering for work stood at 1,765
decreasing by 18.6 per cent when compared to the corresponding month in
2017.

Data provided by Jobsplus for December 2018 indicated a decline of 409 persons registering under Part I and an increase of seven among those registering under Part II of the unemployment register, when compared to the same month in 2017

Registrants for work decreased when compared to December 2017, irrespective of how long they had been registering for work. The largest decrease in registrants was recorded among persons who had been registering for more than one year, the National Statistics Office said on Friday.

The registered unemployment rate in July 2018 stood at 0.9 per cent of the labour supply, (excluding part-time employment): 1.0 per cent for men and 0.7 per cent for women

The head of JobsPlus, Clyde Caruana, recently told The Sunday Times of Malta that of the unemployed, the majority – 1,400 – is what economists call the ‘frictionally unemployed’: those who are in between jobs or on the way to jobs, leaving only 400 who are pragmatically speaking not employable for various reasons.

In a statement, the government said the number of registered unemployed was the lowest in Maltese history. The number was less than a fourth what it was in 2013, when there was a change in government.